Levo Gen 3 Broken chain stay on new S- works turbo levo

[mustclime]

I have broken every plastic bike that I have owned.. mostly impact damage. I personally think carbon frames are great for road bikes but not durable enough for hard trail riding.

 

[Chairman]

I have broken every plastic bike that I have owned.. mostly impact damage. I personally think carbon frames are great for road bikes but not durable enough for hard trail riding.

I have to disagree. If built for lightweight then yes 100% but if built for strength the carbon every day. MY Zerode acoustic bike ain't ever going to break and I feel the same about my 3 year old Cannondale ebike. If build to the same standards a plastic frame will way outlast an alloy frame of the same weight

 

[Streddaz]

My old Non-Ebike Norco Sight has a carbon frame and it's a 2015 model and done over 11,000km, countless enduros and some at EWS level and I've never had an issue with it. I had a Giant Anthem in an aluminium frame and broke that.
I don't think it's the material, it's either a bad design or unlucky accident.
First thing I see on a video where is shows a frame or wheel breaking is the comments of "well that's carbon for you" and half the time it was really an aluminium frame/wheel. I saw a video of a guy doing a stupid huck to flat off a set of stairs about 2m up, on a new Stumpjumper. What do you know, the seat stays broke. Of course, they broke when you huck to flat something that only a DH should hit on a lightweight trail bike. Shit happens sometimes but frame failures are nowhere near as common as they were 10 years or more ago.

 

[Ribinrobin]

View attachment 130213
Specialized always tried to claims the damage is a crash. I have around 200 miles on my bike never crashed and I had a catastrophic failure on my seat stays. they offered 30% off a seat stay not taking into account the damage done to the whole frame from the force of the triangle snapping

Did specialized comment on running the coil? Also has fork travel been increased? No accusations here, more curiosity.

 

[Mikerb]

These types of ally v carbon discussions always overlook one key factor.......describing a frame as "carbon" is fairly meaningless! The construction is a composite comprising choices of carbon fibre of different modulus and mat design (UD/matrix) and may even comprise a matrix of other materials such as kevlar or glass......and different qualities of epoxy resin. Add to that there are different layup methods...pre preg/wet. The choices make a significant difference to cost , performance and durability. In terms of both design and manufacture the use of carbon composite requires significant expertise and experience......with many opportunities for failure.
In short without a great deal more information on all of the above we have no idea what we are paying for.

 

[mustclime]

I have to disagree. If built for lightweight then yes 100% but if built for strength the carbon every day. MY Zerode acoustic bike ain't ever going to break and I feel the same about my 3 year old Cannondale ebike. If build to the same standards a plastic frame will way outlast an alloy frame of the same weight

Again, 3 of the 4 was impact damage, 2 were from stones hitting the down tube around the protective strips. One was a cracked chain stay from a OTB in a rock field and the final was a stick in the wheel that pulled the derailleur around and broke the seat stay before the hanger let go. None of these would have done more than a dent or paint chip on an alloy frame. Now maybe one of my ancestors spit on a witch or something but it is my experience that plastic frames on mountain bikes is not a good fit for me. Just a fyi, if you think that all these tape products for mtb frames is to protect the paint, you are not paying attention.